If you can make it by yourself , a pitch is really cheap ...
I fly with a selfmade ( see my signature) more than 10 years ..only a 10 kohm poti and some mechanics ... tubes ...
Now i have this one ( its great ) 459,-
BELL 206 COLLECTIVE
Helicopter implementation being planned at all?
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Are there any affordable (say within the Saitek-range) helicopter controls available? The ones I know start at 600 $ which is a bit steep for a casual chopper flyer. I know there are numerous do-it-yourself solutions on YouTube but that's not what I would be looking for. And of course it should work with AeroflyFS2.
At present, I use a Saitek Quadrant for Collective, the Saitek Cessna Pedals (pretty poor for that purpose) and a TM16000.
I doubt there is, but just in case, thanks a lot, Michael
Unfortunately not, it's a pretty niche market and what's out there is generally good quality, but expensive. Best source of info is the helisimmer site and the DCS forums.
edit: the down and dirty way is to reverse the axis of your throttle so you pull it towards you to increase the collective pitch. Most helicopters seem to have an automatic throttle/governor, so I leave that on one half of the throttle unit and keep it forward, like in a fixed wing, then have the nearest one on collective. You can then use the joystick as normal, but it has a much shorter throw, so you need to fiddle with curves. I'd also say some decent pedals are very important on anti torque duty to get that 3D combination of pedals/collective/cyclic all working in a coordinated way.
It does work pretty well and is a good compromise.
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I find it hard. I tried several times (and keep trying now and then) but it's so unstable in comparison to fixed-wing planes. I actually can fly it over a certain distance, but hovering and notably landing is quite hard.
Add the fact that most of us (including me) don't have helicopter-specific hardware like collective and have to rely on poor substitutes.
Kind regards, Michael
I have just ordered and are about to receive a B206-collective but have had very good results on a adapted solution, using the CH-throttle quadrant as a collective, mounted sideways. Just got a very lightweight PVC tube as an extension, gaffer-taped to the handle on the unit itself. It looked wonky, but under the hood it doesn't matter right!?! Anti-torque pedals from VKB are fantastic, you'll find them on the x-plane.org store just north of $200. For a cyclic i have been using the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS with an extension - not perfect, as it has a rather large springforce towards centre, but this is alleviated by the extension and kinda works OK.
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I have just ordered and are about to receive a B206-collective but have had very good results on a adapted solution, using the CH-throttle quadrant as a collective, mounted sideways. Just got a very lightweight PVC tube as an extension, gaffer-taped to the handle on the unit itself. It looked wonky, but under the hood it doesn't matter right!?! Anti-torque pedals from VKB are fantastic, you'll find them on the x-plane.org store just north of $200. For a cyclic i have been using the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS with an extension - not perfect, as it has a rather large springforce towards centre, but this is alleviated by the extension and kinda works OK.
Thanks, that collective looks really good. Maybe a bit further into copters I might actually spend the money.
Kind regards, Michael
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Very disappointed with the R22. Was hoping for a half decent one like the Huey or CH47. Won’t be purchasing this.
the Huey in DCS is incredible. I fly with the Copy Cat helo controls. Had them for years and are perfect for rotary flying.
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slipstream, have you read the Helisimmer article? It says clearly that there is no better way to learn to fly helicopters than the R22 and that the model is quite good already - even if in development stages. Now, if you are an accomplished helo pilot, you can just wait for a bigger chopper to arrive.
At the least there is no reason to start bashing the sim just because they make a choice you would not have made.
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When i look at the cooperation with brunner and vuichard i can imagine that ipacs might have a different agenda than just develope a flight sim in the consumer market. With the development of vr new possibilities come up in relation with simulators and training. I assume this could be more interesting from a financial standpoint than consumer flight simulation. But we will benefit from that too. The r22 is a vety good start into that business i think.
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When i look at the cooperation with brunner and vuichard i can imagine that ipacs might have a different agenda than just develope a flight sim in the consumer market. With the development of vr new possibilities come up in relation with simulators and training. I assume this could be more interesting from a financial standpoint than consumer flight simulation. But we will benefit from that too. The r22 is a vety good start into that business i think.
We always do things in a way that most users don't quite understand but I assure you that what we do is always well thought out and as close to 'real' as you can possibly get.
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Are there any affordable (say within the Saitek-range) helicopter controls available? The ones I know start at 600 $ which is a bit steep for a casual chopper flyer. I know there are numerous do-it-yourself solutions on YouTube but that's not what I would be looking for. And of course it should work with AeroflyFS2.
At present, I use a Saitek Quadrant for Collective, the Saitek Cessna Pedals (pretty poor for that purpose) and a TM16000.
I doubt there is, but just in case, thanks a lot, Michael
Hey Michael, it's actually pretty easy to build your own stuff if you are even mildly talented with basic tools. The electronics are now trivial. It's a do it yourself solution but you can download canned firmware (web search Instructables for ARDUINO LEONARDO/MICRO AS GAME CONTROLLER/JOYSTICK - and that's just one source. I'd post the link but those get deleted here.) and wire up potentiometers or hall sensors, buttons, etc, and go to town.
The biggest hurdle is usually just starting. After that and as you gain experience, it gets easy.
You can really cut into the costs by doing it yourself and have the controls you want, exactly as you want. I know this might not be what you are looking for, but it's really not as hard as it first looks.
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So if it is to be a single engine egg whisk are there plans to allow multi engines.. Perhaps then some idiot who will have finished Leeds Bradford by that point may take up the challenge
I would also agree that building controls is not as difficult as you think. I have built numerous sim and if you break it down to small stages its quite easy.
A 3D printer is a great investment and they are pretty cheap these days
Steve
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Very disappointed with the R22. Was hoping for a half decent one like the Huey or CH47. Won’t be purchasing this.
the Huey in DCS is incredible. I fly with the Copy Cat helo controls. Had them for years and are perfect for rotary flying.
The helicopters in XP11 are also just as good, and so long as the R22 we get is a match for those (and according to helisimmer, it looks like it will be), then it will be the first of many. You have to start somewhere.
